Welcome

Under the Auspices of
H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic,
Dr. Karolos Papoulias

Amidst increasing concerns over climate change, environmental safety and the security of energy supply/demand, the Mediterranean region is in a privileged position to act as a host to a wide variety of viewpoints regarding the resolution of our global sustainable development issue.

Until very recently Climate Protection and Energy Security have been viewed as largely contradictory or separate objectives. "The Athens Summit on Climate Change and Energy Security" will strive to overthrow this zero-sum mentality.

Increased hydrocarbon demand does not necessitate the environmental destruction of the planet any more than a lessening of demand would necessitate the impoverishment of hydrocarbon exporting-states. This conference will be global in reach and substance, but will have a special focus on the Euro-Mediterranean area. That is because the multiple synergies developed since 1995 under the E.U.'s "Barcelona Process Initiatives", can be paradigmatic of this new way of thinking.

To bring together senior government officials, international civil servants, corporate leaders, financiers, academic and market analysts from all swaths of the energy and environmental communities, in order to forge a common understanding of the challenges facing the area's sustainable development, as well as to provide a unique networking opportunity for all interested parties.

The summit will culminate in the signing of an inter-governmental declaration, which aspires to set bold but achievable sustainability targets for the Euro-Mediterranean region.

A series of separate sessions will examine the ways in which each separate sector of the energy industry (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, alternatives) interrelates with the greater question of environmental protection. Important companies and organizations such as Endessa, International Energy Agency, International Energy Forum, Petroleum Finance Company, Morgan Stanley, Delloite & Touce, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, European Investment Bank, Eurelectric, Sonatrach, Wingas, Hellenic Petroleum, DEPA (Hellenic Public Gas Company), DESFA (Hellenic Gas Transmission Operator), Mytilineos Group and Total Gas have accepted to participate in the Summit as sponsors / speakers.

Highlights of the Summit include:

• Opening Remarks by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Dr. Karolos Papoulias. Welcoming Remarks by the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Dr. Kostas Karamanlis, by the President of the Socialist International & President of PASOK, Dr. George Papandreou, by the Hellenic Minister for Development, Mr Christos Folias, by the Hellenic Minister for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works Mr Georgios Souflias and by the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Stavros Dimas
• Presentations by senior representatives from the public and private sectors
• Panel discussions on renewable energy, carbon trading, resource nationalism, future of petroleum, clean coal and the nuclear option
• A Ministerial Summit, initiated by the Greek Minister of Development, who has invited his counterparts from 61 countries to discuss and find solutions about the issues of energy and climate change.

Topics of discussion include:

• Implications of Climate Change for Energy Policy
• Strategic Developments in Energy and Climate Security
• Hydrocarbon Dependence and Evolution
• The Environment and Energy Communities Meet: Finding Common Ground for Energy and Climate Security
• Conventional Power for the Future
• Renewables to the Rescue
• The Financiers Forum: The New Era of Energy/ Environmental Investment
• C40 Session: The Role of Cities in Combating Climate Change